During the month of October we performed more surgeries than ever in the recorded history of HAH.
Two girls with tibia osteomyelitis become best friends
Our staff crushed the previous record from April 2018 when we did 101 cases. (That was with the help of a high powered visiting team)
Last month we did 121 cases and these were all done by our own doctors and nurses. We did 63 ortho cases, 15 general surgery and the remainder mostly OB/Gyn. Now, in reality we have the capacity to do much more, but given the political situation in Haiti it is absolutely remarkable that our hospital is rising to new levels during these tumultuous times. Many other hospitals are barely functioning if at all. It is not easy to keep functioning when every bit of infrastructure around us is deteriorating. “Peyi Lok” or Operation Lockdown has been in full force throughout the country of Haiti this last month. Stores are mostly closed, public transportation is scarce, fuel is in short supply, utilities are even more unreliable than usual and gangsters have seized control of major thoroughfares.
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- Dr. Alexis with Florence finishing up one of the tibia osteomyelitis cases
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- The morning commute
Several times this past month we were down to just a few gallons of diesel fuel to keep our generators working.
Going to sleep
But one way or another it all worked out.
The Lord’s blessing on our work here is palpable. Along with that I would like to put a big shout out to our staff who have kept working in spite of adversity. They have had to traverse burning roadblocks, avoid gunfire, and often come to work on foot due to lack of public transportation. Our head nurse had her phone robbed at gunpoint on her morning commute. The bandit held his gun to her chest on a busy street and told her to keep quiet and give him her phone. So she did.
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- After placing a SIGN nail and repairing the radial nerve
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- Vanessa prepares for another case
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- Gunshot wound to the humerus. We don’t ask if they are the bad guy or the good guy. We just take care of them. We like to take care of innocent victims, but we also don’t mind being on the good side of the gangsters.
It is impressive to see the commitment, unity and religious zeal that everyone has for the work at HAH. While strife outside our walls increases, stories of healing at HAH are multiplying. Credit does not only go to our OR staff but also to our administration and ancillary staff who do the behind the scenes work to source oxygen, fuel, food and other key supplies. The goal of the gangsters is to squeeze all commercial and government functions until the society implodes and the government steps down. This poses danger to the garbage truck dudes. Trash pickup lapsed for 4 weeks until Clarens our CFO was finally able to negotiate a deal with the city to haul off some rubbish. They came at 11pm on a Saturday night to do an undercover job in order to avoid the gangsters.
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- Yves Marlene our financial counselor. Resources are scarce for most of our patients but she is able to talk to each one of them and reach fair agreements in order to avoid turning anyone away.
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- They call this guy Blan. That means white guy. Not sure exactly how he acquired the name, but he mops floors. I was told that the other day a patient did not have enough money to pay for their lab so he gave them his own money to make sure they were taken care of
As one of the only fully functioning hospitals in Port au Prince, more and more people are coming to HAH during this humanitarian crisis. We are needed more than ever. Thanks to our staff, to our supporters and to God, HAH is setting new records.
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